Opportunities exist for external efforts to foster improved relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia. This will involve questioning some of the underlying assumptions about their conflict and current regional dynamics. A fresh approach should involve engagement with each country individually, rather than immediate attempts to promote dialogue between them.

The initial focus should be on promoting the conditions in each country for an eventual confident re-engagement with the other. It is important to avoid a narrow focus on the specifics of the border conflict, and post-conflict boundary demarcation, which has hitherto dominated external engagement.

Economic incentives are central to enabling improved relations between the two states. However, the prospective economic benefits of re-opening the border will not be the initial catalyst for improved ties given that economic considerations were insufficient to prevent the war.

International engagement on areas of mutual interest, especially on trade and investment, could go some way to fostering a sense in Eritrea of stable economic sovereignty in the face of Ethiopia’s economic and demographic predominance.

Waiting for a change of leadership before making significant efforts to engage is untenable. There is no guarantee that subsequent leaders would adopt a significantly different foreign policy.

A colony for 50 years, federated , Unified to Ethiopia , in 1991’s seceded after three decades of rebellion. Since 1998 Eritrea is at War, harboring proxy warriors especially the notorious Al- Shabab. Torture ,imprisonment , thousands fleeing, no religious freedom , the only university is closed, everybody is in the army, No Parliament, No election, No functioning institution, No free press & all living journalists are in prison. Eritrea is called the North Korea of Africa.

D Eritrea Special Rapporteur – 20th Meeting 23rd Regular Session of Human Rights CouncilInteractive dialogue with:– Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea Interactive dialogue with:– Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea A/HRC/23/53

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 20/20. It is based upon the initial observations of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea and information gathered from a variety of other sources, including Eritrean refugees interviewed during a field mission to neighbouring countries from 30 April to 9 May 2013. In the report, the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of the most serious human rights concerns in Eritrea, including cases of extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, inhumane prison conditions, indefinite national service, and lack of freedom of expression and opinion, assembly, association, religious belief and movement. She addresses a number of recommendations to Eritrea and the international community aimed at improving respect for human rights in the country.

Eritrea is undermining stability in conflict-ravaged Somalia by paying political agents and a warlord linked to Islamist militants to influence the Mogadishu government, U.N. sanctions experts said in a confidential report.

The Eritrean government has long denied playing any negative role in Somalia, saying it has no links to Islamist al Shabaab militants fighting to overthrow the Somali government. It says the U.N. sanctions imposed on it in 2009 for supporting al Shabaab were based on lies and has called for the sanctions to be lifted.The latest annual report by the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea to the Security Council’s Somalia/Eritrea sanctions committee casts fresh doubt on Asmara’s denials, undermining its case for lifting the sanctions against it.

“The Monitoring Group has received numerous reports about the warming of relations between Asmara and Mogadishu, and has obtained evidence of Asmara’s control of political agents close to the Somali presidency and some of the individual spoilers,” the group said in the report, seen by Reuters.

One such operative, the monitors said, is “Eritrean agent of influence Abdi Nur Siad ‘Abdi Wal,’ … who is reported to have a close relationship with a senior al Shabaab commander.”

The monitors describe Abdi Wal as a “warlord.”

“Abdi Wal is now a close ally of former ARS-Asmara (a Somali Islamist network in Eritrea) leader Zakaria Mohamed Haji Abdi, for whom he provides security in Mogadishu,” the monitors said. “He is known to command the allegiance of about 100 fighters in Mogadishu and is involved in contract killings.”

The monitors said in their report that they have “obtained direct testimonies and concrete evidence of Eritrean support to Abdi Wal and Mohamed Wali Sheikh Ahmed Nuur.” The Monitoring Group has reported on Ahmed Nuur in the past, describing him as a “political coordinator for al Shabaab” and a recipient of funds from Eritrea.

“A source on the Eritrean payroll in direct contact with Abdi Wal has confirmed that Abdi Wal has admitted in closed-door meetings that he is acting as an agent for the Eritrean government,” the group said in its latest report.

Eritrea’s U.N. mission did not respond to a request for comment.

RUSSIAN AND ITALIAN COMPLAINTS

The latest report said that Ahmed Nuur, also known as Ugas Mohamed Wali Sheikh, has repeatedly held meetings in Khartoum with Mohamed Mantai, Eritrea’s ambassador to Sudan and, since December, Iran.

“During these meetings, options for Eritrean financial support to Ahmed Nuur were discussed,” the report said.

“Mantai, a former military intelligence officer, has a history of operating in Somalia and was expelled from Kenya in 2009 after he returned from Somalia following meetings with al Shabaab agents,” the monitors said.

In addition to their nearly 500-page report on Somalia and Eritrea, the Monitoring Group produced a separate report of around 80 pages focusing solely on Eritrea.

Council diplomats said the longer Somalia/Eritrea report will be made public soon, but the shorter Eritrea report will not be published because of Russian objections.

According to a letter the Russian delegation sent to Ambassador Kim Sook, chairman of the Somalia/Eritrea sanctions committee, Russia “objects to the publication of the (Eritrea) report due to the biased and groundless conclusions and recommendations contained in it.”

Italian Ambassador Cesare Maria Ragaglini also wrote to Kim complaining about the report because of “misleading information and undocumented implications of violations of the arms embargo.” Reuters has obtained both letters.

According to diplomats familiar with the U.N. monitors’ shorter Eritrea report, an Italian helicopter exported to Eritrea for mining survey purposes was seen at a military facility there, raising the possibility of a sanctions breach.

The monitors said Italian authorities failed to provide additional information as requested, the diplomats added.

Ragaglini dismissed that allegation, saying “we did provide the information they requested (e.g. on financial flows), but there is no evidence whatsoever of military assistance from Italy to sustain the undocumented claims of the experts.”

China, diplomats say, is annoyed about references in the Eritrea report to Chinese machine tools procured for a large government depot in Eritrea that houses tanks, missiles and dual-use civilian trucks. But the envoys said there was no suggestion the Chinese government was violating U.N. sanctions.

After the Eritrean independence war ended in 1991, Eritreans threw themselves into reconstructing the country’s shattered infrastructure, with whole villages helping out to build small dams, terrace-eroded hillsides, and plant thousands of trees. Photos by Dan Connell.

Once a revolution is over, how do you judge its success? A victory for Mao’s vision of the People’s Republic of China was not exactly a victory for the people of China. A glorious, clean revolution isn’t easy. Look at Russia, France, Cambodia, Iran. Look at Egypt today. In the coming decades, we will see the result of revolutions played out across the Arab world and, quite possibly, across Europe as well. Will they be deemed successes by anyone other than the victors?

A crucial, but little reported, example of a hard fought revolution and its troubling aftermath can be found in the Horn of Africa.

Twenty years ago, Eritrea—in the northeast of Africa—became a legally independent nation, having won its de-facto independence from Ethiopia two years earlier, in 1991. This independence was the end result of a 30-year war with Ethiopia. The revolutionaries who won the war were heroes, champions of freedom standing up against an oppressive, murderous Ethiopian regime backed by the Soviet Union and tacitly supported by the West. They had reestablished an independent Eritrean nation and the future looked bright. But revolutionary opposition and day-to-day power are two totally different things. Once you’ve gotten used to glorious victories, the thrills of red tape and responsibility may well be lost on you. As such, creating a free and democratic society is a total pain in the ass.

Eritrea had been an Italian colony since 1890, Ethiopia since 1935. After the Second World War, Eritrea became part of Ethiopia but maintained a measure of independence. In 1962, and in contravention of a UN resolution, Ethiopia annexed Eritrea. The UN and other world powers looked on, unwilling to jeopardize their relationship with the strategically-vital Ethiopia. As John Foster Dulles, who would go on to be the United States’ secretary of state, said in 1950, “From the standpoint of justice, the opinions of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interest of the United States in the Red Sea basin and considerations of security and world peace make it necessary that the country has to be linked with our ally, Ethiopia.” Eritrea had been screwed.

An EPLF member outside Asmara, 1979.

When Eritrea gained its independence in the early 1990s, it was the Marxist revolutionary group The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) that took power in Asmara, the nation’s capital, having fought a long and hard guerrilla war against Ethiopia. With their ruthless discipline, encouragement of abstinence and collective focus, the EPLF were—in the words of one leading Eritrean historian—“the most successful liberation movement in Africa.” They were tough, and while their intolerance of dissent galvanized their fighting potential, it merely made them tyrants once they were in power.

Led by Isaias Afewerki, they continued their flair for strong, Marxist-sounding names by becoming the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). And, with Isaias front and center, the PFDJ has remained in power ever since independence.

Today, criticism of the government is not tolerated. Only four religions are officially recognized. Worship in any other church and you’ll be persecuted. There is no civil society to speak of and, every month, kids cross the border to escape national service, which has no fixed end and is essentially a form of government-sponsored slavery. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates the number of fleeing Eritreans at 1,000 a month (it’s worth noting that escaping means going through the Sahara into mine-strewn Ethiopia while avoiding being shot by border guards). Reporters Without Borders ranks Eritrea 178th out of 178 in the world for press freedom, which basically means anything approaching journalism is banned.

A UN-supplied refugee camp near the border of Ethiopia, accommodating some of the thousands of Eritreans who flee across the border every year.

By 2012, hundreds of thousands of young Eritreans had fled the country to escape the deepening political repression and to avoid what had become open-ended national service in both the armed forces and state and party-controlled businesses. Three hundred refugees were showing up in Ethiopia each month and being placed in UN-supplied camps near the border.

In May, to coincide with Eritrea’s 20th anniversary celebrations, Amnesty International released a damning report entitled Eritrea: 20 Years of Independence, but Still No Freedom. The report claims that there are, at minimum, 10,000 prisoners being held illegally without trial in Eritrea. The human rights organization’s Eritrea researcher, Claire Beston, told me that this figure did not include those people jailed for “avoiding national service or trying to flee the country.” The report is littered with the testimony of people who have been affected by the actions of the government:

“I last saw my father at the beginning of 2007, they took him away from our house. I know nothing about what happened afterward.”

“This generation, everyone has gone through the prison at least once. Everyone I met in prison has been in prison two or three times.”

“Everybody has to confess what he’s done. They hit me so many times… Many people were getting disabled at that military camp. During the night they would take them to a remote area, tie them up, and beat them on their back.”

There are many more like this. It’s not exactly light summer reading.

The 1984 to ’85 African famine put Eritrea’s war for independence on hold as the liberation front trucked aid into the country to prevent both mass starvation and a wholesale exodus from the contested areas. Ethiopia sought to isolate the Eritreans using food as a weapon.

Tesfamichael Gerahtu, Eritrea’s ambassador to the UK and Ireland, told me that while Eritrea have “some challenges in human rights,” there “are no people incarcerated on the basis of their political beliefs.” The Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an angrily-worded response that rejected Amnesty’s “wild accusations.” The release concluded that Amnesty would ignore the 20th anniversary celebrations, “smug in its selfrighteous belief that it can, with impunity, attack and denigrate a young nation, which despite many odds, manages to progress and improve the lives of its citizens.”

Amnesty’s Claire Beston told me that Eritrea’s refusal to acknowledge its illegal detention of its own people was “incredibly disappointing for the families of those affected.” Additionally, she pointed out that Eritrea’s imprisonment of innocent people was in direct contravention with a number of international treaties it had signed up to. Drawing parallels with another country known for imprisoning innocent citizens, the human rights activist Khataza Gondwe has referred to Eritrea as “Africa’s North Korea.”

Eritrea, then, has not become the country many hoped for. “I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t believe that promises were betrayed,” Eritrean exile Gaim Kibreab—a university professor and author of Eritrea: A Dream Deferred—told me. Kibreab left Eritrea in 1976. For him, the actions of the current government “affect us all. I have relatives in Sudanese refugee camps. I have dear friends in prison in Eritrea.” The deferred dream of a free Eritrea was not just Kibreab’s, but one shared by many of his countrymen, though possibly not Isaias Afewerki and his revolutionary army.

Kibreab wishes for a pluralist democracy in which there is a free press and a flourishing civil society. But was this ever going to be a realistic proposition for a group of hardened guerrilla warriors at the end of a 30-year struggle? Decades of uninterrupted power is probably a closer approximation of Isaias’ dreams. He’s said to be full of contempt for humanity, to be a big drinker and a mean drunk. He’s a human rights violator and a petty thug who’s known to break bottles over people’s heads once he’s had a few.

As such, being boss probably suits him just fine. His former foreign minister, Petros Solomon, a key fighter and comrade in the revolution, was imprisoned in 2001 for speaking out against the government as part of the G-15 group of dissidents, who wrote an open letter to Isaias denouncing the lack of freedom in Eritrea. Solomon has not been heard from since his imprisonment.

Petros Solomon in an underground bunker in the frontline town of Nakfa, in 1979.

Some ex-revolutionary fighters and other defenders of the Eritrean government are scornful of exiled, “so-called intellectuals” like Gaim Kibreab. They believe that the people who now talk about human rights in Eritrea are hypocrites, people who didn’t fight and stand up for the violation of Eritrean human rights in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. There is still a significant amount of support for Isaias in the Eritrean diaspora. The Eritrean ambassador told me that “you must respect that we have had our human rights violated,” in relation to Ethiopia’s annexing of—and then war with—Eritrea, as well as the international support of Ethiopia.

Kibreab, in a way, agrees with him. He told me that when you talk about Eritrea, you have to talk about Ethiopia, which—secure in its importance strategically to the United States—has continued to run roughshod over Eritrea and, in doing so, has alienated Eritrea from the rest of the world. A world that now regards it as a small rogue state with a potential for Islamism, while viewing Ethiopia as a large, roguish, but vital state—a key ally in the “War on Terror.”

“The international community,” Kibreab pointed out, “has never been charitable to the Eritrean government. But if they moved towards liberal democracy, they’d help themselves.” However, this lack of support is worth remembering, particularly since it has been true ever since John Foster Dulles admitted that Eritrea was to be the victim in an international power game. Freedom from the machinations of foreign powers was one of the driving forces of the revolution. Now, still isolated, Isaias and his government continue to battle on, proudly proclaiming survival in the face of international contempt.

In 1998, the Eritreans went back to war with Ethiopia. The country’s youth were quickly mobilized to go back into the trenches.

The interminable military service, for example, makes some sense in the context of Ethiopian aggression. In 1998, the two countries went to war over a small portion of disputed territory surrounding the barren, rock-strewn town of Badme. The war, which lasted for over two years and resulted in the death of up to 100,000 soldiers, was described as “two bald men fighting over a comb.”

Since the end of the war, Ethiopia has failed to recognize an international court ruling that stipulates that Badme is part of Eritrea. Eritrean government officials have repeatedly told me that if Ethiopia recognized the boundary, they would be ready to make friends with their neighbors. Ethiopia funds many of the strands of opposition in Eritrea and, along with the United States, plays a crucial role in a paranoid narrative put forward by the Eritrean government: that Eritrea’s very existence is under constant threat from dark powers beyond its borders.

There is an element of truth to this, but of course Isaias and his government spin it out for all its worth. As far as propaganda goes, Ethiopia is Isaias’ greatest ally.

An EPLF member outside Asmara, 1979.

What I’m also talking about here, when I talk about Eritrea at 20 years, is the difference between the idealism of revolutionary opposition and the practical day-to-day reality of running a government. After years in the mountains fighting a guerrilla war, how was a revolutionary movement going to smoothly transition into power? Just like with the Taliban in Afghanistan, we’ve seen that life in grizzled, iconic opposition is perhaps not the best preparation for a calm, moral government. In opposition, those around Isaias let him do what needed to be done. There was a sense that he was “our bastard.” But, since then, the bastard has never stopped.

Ex-revolutionaries in Eritrea are often characterized as great drinkers, good talkers, and terrible diplomats. They grew up fighting in a revolutionary struggle, and the intricacies of international diplomacy were not for them. Paranoid and wary of showing weakness, they have punished innocent people for their own failings.

This is the sadness of all revolutionary dreams turned sour: the reality of freedom is never the same as the promise of freedom. It’s unlikely that when the EPLF were fighting for their country’s independence they looked up at that East African sky and thought: We dream that some day we will imprison people without trial, that our people will do anything they can to escape the country, that our youth will be locked into national service and that there will be no such thing as journalism.

Every generation reacts against the previous one, though. Isaias is getting old, and with the post-independence generation now 20 years old, the next few years could see some upheaval, hopefully for the better, in Eritrea.

The Wall Street Journal yearly indexes the outcome of the economic performance of each country globally. Eritrea truly started to be indexed starting 2009 the year the country start exploring gold. Here is the extrapolated and compared Eritrea with the rest of Ethiopia in performance graphically from this resource of Heritage Foundation.

Eritrea’s economic freedom score is 36.7, making its economy one of the least free in the 2011 Index. Its overall score is 1.4 points higher than last year, reflecting some improvements in its ratings for government spending, business freedom, and labor freedom. Eritrea is ranked 45th out of the 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Ethiopia’s economic freedom score is 50.5, making its economy the 144th freest in the 2011 Index. Its overall score is 0.7 point lower than last year, reflecting declines in four of the 10 economic freedoms that were partially offset by gains elsewhere. Ethiopia is ranked 30th out of 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is just below the regional average.

Eritreans have suffered substantial losses of economic freedom in recent years. Afflicted by poor economic management and structural problems that severely undermine private-sector development, the country lags in productivity growth and dynamism and, consequently, in economic growth as well. Long-standing structural problems include poor public finance management and underdeveloped legal and regulatory frameworks.

Poor governance and the lack of commitment to structural reforms continue to hamper economic freedom. Investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption are extraordinarily weak. Monetary stability remains fragile, and inflation is very high, largely reflecting excessive money creation to fund fiscal deficits. Arbitrary taxation, poor infrastructure, marginal enforcement of property rights, and weak rule of law have driven many people and enterprises into the informal sector.

TEN ECONOMIC FREEDOMS of Eritrea

18.2

Business Freedom

avg 64.3

0.0

Investment Freedom

avg 50.2

69.1

Trade Freedom

avg. 74.8

20.0

Financial Freedom

avg 48.5

73.0

Fiscal Freedom

avg. 76.3

10.0

Property Rights

avg 43.6

31.5

Government Spending

avg. 63.9

26.0

Fdm. from Corruption

avg 40.5

46.0

Monetary Freedom

avg. 73.4

73.4

Labor Freedom

avg 61.5

————————————

Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, but conflict soon resumed. A U.N. peacekeeping mission ended in 2008 because of Eritrean-imposed restrictions, and relations with Ethiopia remain tense. Eritrea has also ignored a U.N. resolution instructing it to remove troops from a disputed region on the border with Djibouti. President Isaias Afwerki has ruled without elections since 1993. Judicial independence is limited, and journalists and others have been held without trial for speaking against the government. Roughly th

ree-quarters of Eritreans depend on small-scale agriculture and fishing, and two-thirds of the population receives food aid. Productivity is very low, and the International Monetary Fund estimates that remittances from Eritreans living overseas were equivalent to 23 percent of GDP in 2007.

Existing regulations are severely outdated and not conducive to entrepreneurial activity. Procedures for establishing and running a business are opaque and costly.

Inflation has been out of control, averaging 28.8 percent between 2007 and 2009. The government uses the military and party-owned businesses to implement its development agenda and strictly controls the use of foreign currency. Few private enterprises remain. The diversion of manpower and government funds away from peacetime economic activities is expected to continue. Twenty points were deducted from Eritrea’s monetary freedom score to account for extreme monetary-control measures.

Eritrea remains a strict command economy, eliminating most private investment. Large-scale projects must be approved by the appropriate minister or the Office of the President. The government has selectively and narrowly courted foreign investors to explore underexploited resources in mineral extraction, energy, fisheries, and tourism. Regulatory procedures are haphazard and irregularly enforced. Additional impediments to both domestic and foreign private investment include severe limits on the possession and exchange of foreign currency, lack of objective dispute settlement, difficulty in obtaining licenses, large-scale use of conscripted labor, and expropriation of private assets. Government influence makes the courts biased arbiters in legal disputes.

Eritrea’s financial system remains poorly developed, and government interference is significant. High credit costs and scarce access to financing severely impede private investment and economic growth. All banks are majority-owned by the state, and private-sector involvement in the financial system remains limited. The Commercial Bank of Eritrea, the largest commercial bank, is chartered by the government to provide a range of financial services to the public, but very high collateral requirements for loans prohibit many small entrepreneurs from establishing and expanding their businesses. The government has borrowed heavily from private banks, crowding out private-sector economic activity. Falling interest rates have destabilized banks and led to a further decline in financial intermediation.

The government strictly controls the political, social, and economic systems. The independence of the judiciary is limited. The government has a history of expropriating houses, businesses, and other private property without notice, explanation, or compensation. Arbitrary and complex regulatory requirements discourage investment from both foreign and domestic sources, and the government often reclaims successful private enterprises and property. In theory, women have the legal right to equal educational opportunities, equal pay for equal work, and equal property rights; in practice, men retain privileged access to education, employment, and control of economic resources, particularly in rural areas.

The month of September is a special month in the history of the Horn of Africa. It is the month of Ethiopian & Eritrean Orthodox New Year falling the same day as that of 9/11 terrorist attack 9 years ago in New York. The 1st of September is a memorial day in Eritrea, the day the struggle of liberation started. This day is commemorated every years in Asmara the capital of the ex Italian colony once federated later province of Ethiopia, which seceded in 1991 and became Independence in 1993, with the full support of the present regime of Ethiopia. Eritrea is a pure creation of the scramble for Africa. The Eritrean legacy of colonization has continued to this day starting a full flagged war with Ethiopia 7 years after its independence. The leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia were once comrades in struggle against the Marxist regime of Addis Ababa, today they are at least publically sworn enemy. The war exploded in 1998 between the two frères-enemies up until 2002, when Cessez-le-feu was established by the intervention of the UN , costing over 200000 lives. Further more, the two dictatorial regimes continue their proxy war and war of words by organizing proxy armed movements in each other soil. They even further destabilized the region by employing their proxies in Somalia. Thus, Somalia became the center of international terrorism and piracy sponsored by Al Qaida. The Ethiopian dictator dragged in over 5000 African forces to Somalia after unsuccessful occupation of the country for two years starting 2006. In 2009 Ethiopian regime pressured the AU at its siege in Ethiopia to impose sanction against Eritrea by the UN. Eritrea in return continues supporting the opposition groups in Somali and Ethiopia in spite of the UN sanction to this day.

“Cease arming, training and equipping armed groups and their members including al-Shabab”

Eritrea called the sanction as”ludicrous punitive measures” and warned that their imposition risked “engulfing the region in to another cycle of conflict as it may encourage Ethiopia to contemplate reckless military adventures”.

Both the representative of Eritrea and Ethiopia used the opportunity of the United Nations General Debate to settle some scores trying to influence some member states to join their proxy wars in Somalia in the pretext of border wars. It is ridiculous after agreeing in major principle as great as the Independence of Eritrea to engage to a whole out war for a piece of barn land. As we all know the truth of the mater lies not on that piece of land. Let us here it from the Eritrean Foreign Minster:-

“While the United Nations grapples with Sudan and Somalia, it continues to ignore the grave consequences of Ethiopia’s continued occupation of sovereign Eritrean territory, eight years after the ruling of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC), and three years after the Commission ended its work by depositing in the United Nations the demarcated boundary between the two countries. Ethiopia’s illegal occupation and the United Nations’ silence, which mean the continuation of the conflict, is exacting a heavy price on the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia and complicating the regional situation. I wish to remind the United Nations that Eritrea awaits responsible and urgent action to end Ethiopia’s violation of international law and its threat to regional peace and security.”

Eritrean Foreign Minster

The story as told by the Ethiopian Foreign Minster goes the following wise

When we talk about security in the Horn of Africa Region…we cannot avoid raising our concern once again about the destructive role the Government of Eritrea has continued to play since independence. It is an open secret that the Eritrean Government has for some time now been actively playing the role of the spoiler in the whole tragic situation in Somalia…the Eritrean regime is the principal destabilizer in our sub-region with utter contempt for international law and the norms of international behavior.

Their accusation and counter accusation has been a daily phenomenon since 1998. The truth would be both to stop preparing proxy warriors and comply with the UN resolutions.

Eritrean response to Ethiopian foreign minster

Ethiopian Delegate On Somalia

Eritrean Delegate

Somali Embattled President today the Proxy of Ethiopia in power in Mogadishu Villa once a Proxy of Eritrea against Ethiopia

In the same month of the September the Ethiopian Dictator Melese Zenawie was busy convincing the US academician in Colombia university lying out rightly to the Students of the university:-

﻿The recent ICG group analysis about Eritrea has been based on sets of journalistic ideological premises which concluded that ; “ Authoritarianism is Hemorrhaging Eritrean legitimacy of the state and leading to become a fallen state“ from being a Siege state.” The same analysis is fully applicable to the Ethiopian regime led by Asmara’s boy Melese Zenawie. ICG’s stated objective on writing the Report N° 163 of 21 Sep 2010 is supposedly

“Toprevent Eritrea from becoming the Horn of Africa’s next failed state “. This is Report in contradiction with different international analysis given to the definition of failed state to this day. Furthermore, the report failed to give the definition and deference between failed and siege states. It rather enumerated historical chronology of events than defining the dynamics of a failed or regime in siege. The paper lucks a conceptual and methodological frame work or a research approach to a failed state.

If we take the 2009 failed state index according to Foreign Policy, Eritrea stood 36th 20 point better than Ethiopia on the 16th place among 177 countries of the world failed state index, that simply means Ethiopia is worst than Eritrea. This analysis has given detailed parameters that defined failed states. While the ICG Report did not even defined what a state in siege means in order to demonstrate Eritrean domestically aggravated siege. The Fund for peace defined Failed sates based on the following indicators:-

The Twelve Indicators according to THE FUND FOR PEACE are

Click on an indicator to see some examples of measures that may be included in the analysis of that indicator. These are neither exclusive nor exhaustive. You can add more measures, as appropriate.

Political Indicators I-7. Criminalization and/or Delegitimization of the State I-8. Progressive Deterioration of Public Services I-9. Suspension or Arbitrary Application of the Rule of Law and Widespread Violation of Human Rights I-10. Security Apparatus Operates as a “State Within a State” I-11. Rise of Factionalized Elites I-12. Intervention of Other States or External Political Actors

Rank

Country

I-1

I-2

I-3

I-4

I-5

I-6

I-7

I-8

I-9

I-10

I-11

I-12

Total

1

Somalia

9.8

9.9

9.7

8.5

7.7

9.5

10.0

9.9

9.9

10.0

10.0

9.8

114.7

2

Zimbabwe

9.8

9.1

9.1

10.0

9.7

10.0

9.8

9.8

9.9

9.7

9.5

7.6

114.0

3

Sudan

9.0

9.8

9.9

9.0

9.6

7.0

9.8

9.5

9.8

9.7

9.5

9.8

112.4

4

Chad

9.3

9.4

9.8

7.8

9.3

8.3

9.8

9.6

9.5

9.9

9.8

9.7

112.2

5

Dem. Rep. of the Congo

9.7

9.6

8.9

8.1

9.3

8.3

8.6

9.2

9.0

9.7

8.7

9.6

108.7

6

Iraq

8.7

8.9

9.7

9.1

8.6

7.6

9.0

8.4

9.3

9.7

9.6

10.0

108.6

7

Afghanistan

9.3

8.9

9.6

7.2

8.4

8.3

9.8

8.9

8.8

9.9

9.1

10.0

108.2

8

Central African Republic

8.9

9.0

8.6

5.7

9.1

8.4

9.3

9.3

8.9

9.6

9.5

9.1

105.4

9

Guinea

8.5

7.1

8.2

8.6

8.9

8.7

9.8

9.2

9.0

9.4

9.2

8.0

104.6

10

Pakistan

8.3

8.6

9.6

8.3

8.8

6.4

9.1

7.5

8.9

9.5

9.6

9.5

104.1

11

Ivory Coast

8.6

7.8

9.0

8.4

8.1

8.3

9.1

8.0

8.5

8.5

8.5

9.7

102.5

12

Haiti

9.3

5.8

7.3

8.6

8.2

8.9

9.2

9.5

8.5

8.4

8.3

9.8

101.8

13

Burma

9.0

8.8

8.9

6.0

9.5

8.2

9.5

9.0

9.0

8.4

8.7

6.5

101.5

14

Kenya

9.0

9.0

8.6

8.3

8.8

7.5

9.0

8.0

8.2

8.0

8.8

8.2

101.4

15

Nigeria

8.5

5.3

9.7

8.3

9.5

6.6

9.2

9.0

8.6

9.4

9.6

6.1

99.8

16

Ethiopia

9.4

8.0

8.2

7.7

8.8

8.3

7.9

8.2

8.5

7.5

8.8

7.6

98.9

17

North Korea

8.5

6.0

7.2

5.0

8.8

9.6

9.8

9.6

9.5

8.3

7.8

8.2

98.3

18

Yemen

8.8

7.9

7.7

7.4

8.9

8.2

8.3

8.5

7.7

8.4

9.0

7.3

98.1

19

Bangladesh

8.9

6.9

9.4

8.4

9.0

8.0

8.5

8.0

7.6

8.0

8.9

6.5

98.1

20

East Timor

8.4

9.0

7.3

5.7

6.8

8.4

9.4

8.4

7.0

9.0

8.8

9.0

97.2

21

Uganda

8.7

9.3

8.0

6.5

8.7

7.6

8.0

8.0

7.7

8.2

8.2

8.0

96.9

22

Sri Lanka

7.5

9.3

9.8

6.9

8.5

6.1

9.0

6.6

8.5

9.2

9.2

6.1

96.7

23

Niger

9.5

6.4

8.5

6.3

7.6

9.2

8.7

9.5

8.2

7.4

7.1

8.1

96.5

24

Burundi

9.2

8.1

7.5

6.5

8.4

8.0

7.5

9.0

7.6

7.3

7.7

8.9

95.7

25

Nepal

8.3

6.8

8.7

6.0

9.3

8.5

8.0

7.4

8.7

8.1

8.4

7.2

95.4

26

Cameroon

8.0

7.5

7.2

8.0

8.9

6.9

9.2

8.0

8.0

7.8

8.7

7.1

95.3

27

Guinea-Bissau

8.6

6.5

5.8

7.0

8.5

8.5

8.6

8.7

8.0

8.5

8.0

8.1

94.8

28

Malawi

9.3

6.3

5.9

8.3

8.5

9.1

8.3

8.8

7.5

5.6

7.8

8.4

93.8

29

Lebanon

7.0

9.0

9.2

7.2

7.4

6.3

7.8

6.2

6.9

9.1

9.1

8.3

93.5

30

Republic of Congo

8.9

7.8

6.5

6.1

8.0

8.0

8.6

8.8

7.9

7.8

7.1

7.6

93.1

31

Uzbekistan

7.9

5.3

7.4

7.0

8.7

7.2

9.0

6.6

9.2

9.0

9.0

6.5

92.8

32

Sierra Leone

8.9

6.9

6.6

8.5

8.4

8.6

7.4

8.7

7.0

6.1

7.7

7.3

92.1

33

Georgia

6.4

8.3

8.5

6.0

7.5

6.0

9.0

6.3

7.5

7.9

8.9

9.5

91.8

34

Liberia

8.6

8.0

6.1

6.8

8.5

8.2

7.0

8.5

6.7

6.9

7.9

8.6

91.8

35

Burkina Faso

9.0

6.0

6.1

6.5

9.0

8.2

7.9

9.0

6.5

7.5

7.6

8.0

91.3

36

Eritrea

8.6

7.0

5.8

6.5

6.0

8.6

8.6

8.6

7.9

7.4

7.7

7.6

90.3

37

Tajikistan

8.2

6.4

6.9

6.5

7.3

7.5

8.9

7.6

8.6

7.5

8.4

6.5

90.3

38

Iran

6.5

8.5

7.6

6.8

7.4

5.5

8.3

6.0

8.9

8.6

9.1

6.8

90.0

The ICG report further accused the Ethiopian regime as a responsible and not Eritrea for the Somalian crisis as a traditional enemy contradicting to the recent UN sanction. ICG recognized Eritrean support for the proxy warriors of the region from Somalia up unto Darfur passing by Ethiopia. The Report in term failed to make the real comparison between the two failed states since both countries are preparing proxies against each other and by extension in Somalia. They preferred to fight via proxy in Somalia than in Bademe, Asmara, and Mekele etc… The UN sanction would have been imposed on both failed sates of the Horn of Africa not only Eritrea. Since both uses Somalia as their battle ground for proxy wars.

ICG affirmed that the recent Gold Bonanza of Eritrea will strengthen her 20 years radical line of action in domestic and regional polices. I think we have to wait rather than making a precipitated prediction, since “one who laughs last laughs the best,” when it comes to the Horn of Africa. It is expected a full reversementof relation in the region even between Addis and Asmara in the very short foreseeable future. Since it is very easy to make peace with once friend today’s enemyrather than acquire a new one in the complex socio political situation of the Horn of Africa.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) in its Report N°153, 4 Sep 2009 has well demonstrated the Ethiopian regime’s Ethnic Federalism and its decentralized state. Its Report N°141 of 17 Jun 2008 was pertinence to the point by demonstrating the fragile peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia with a risk to a new confrontation. The report further affirmed that their No Peace No War situation is a major source of instability for Somalia as demonstrated with that of Ethiopia’s refusal to accept virtual demarcation, and affirming that Asmara’s unilateral implantation would shatter the status quo. This last assessment was proved wrong; despite to the ICG’s 2 years old report the conflict did not spark Scaramouch leading to war to this day.

We think that ICG’s in the future has to make an objective report without making impartiality between the Horn of Africa’s belligerent failed states. These failed states of the Horn act like they have a hidden red telephone between the two discussing the arts and the techniques how to maintain each other in their respective power via proxy war in Somalia. IF a new public dialog between the two is struck, the next day the Somali proxy war will end. They are the instigator of the 20 years of crisis one way or another, Somalia has been a stateless since they came to power almost two decades ago. When you see Eritrean leaders you have seen Ethiopian leaders, since they are the opposite faces of the same coin.

Any foreseeable analyses to make a reasonable prediction about these two failed states is not an easy task using traditional simplistic journalistic affirmations, which are generally hasty and full of highlight and short of any substance. And it is not that simple to grasp or understand the internal dynamics of the horn of Africa’s politics to engage oneself to make any reasonable futuristic prediction.

Please read the different Report on Eritrea and Ethiopia and make your comment directly to the group.

To prevent Eritrea from becoming the Horn of Africa’s next failed state, the international community must engage more with the country.

Eritrea: The Siege State, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, analyses the fragile political and economic situation following the devastating war with Ethiopia (1998-2000). Just a decade ago, Eritrea might reasonably have been described as challenged but stable. Today it is under severe stress, if not yet in full-blown crisis. While not likely to undergo dramatic upheaval in the near future, it is weakening steadily. Its economy is in free fall, poverty is rife, and the authoritarian political system is haemorrhaging its legitimacy.

“As Eritrea continues on this trajectory, its current economic and political problems are only going to deepen”, says Andrew Stroehlein, Crisis Group’s Director of Communications. “While there is no open protest at the moment, the government cannot take this for granted over the long term. Change is really only a matter of time”.

The militarism and authoritarianism which now define Eritrea’s political culture have their roots in the region’s violent history. The 30-year war for independence – achieved in 1991 – was part of a network of conflicts which devastated north-east Africa. The real significance of that legacy has only become clear in the last decade, as President Isaias Afwerki and a small cohort of ex-fighters have strengthened their grip on power, while suppressing social freedoms in favour of an agenda centred on an obedient national unity and the notion that Eritrea is surrounded by enemies.

Eritrea has fought in recent years, directly or indirectly, with Ethiopia, Yemen, Djibouti and Sudan and involved itself in various ways in the conflicts in eastern Sudan, Darfur and Somalia. Relations with Ethiopia in particular remain extremely tense, in large part because Ethiopia has failed to abide by its Algiers Peace Agreement commitment to accept binding arbitration on their disputed border. (The boundary commission ruled that the town of Badme – the original flashpoint of the war – was in Eritrea.) The UN Security Council’s failure to compel compliance reinforced the sense in Asmara that the international community is inherently hostile. While Eritrea asserts that it is pursuing legitimate national security interests, its aggressive approach and abrasive tone have left it increasingly isolated.

The army has been the key stabilising force, but it is becoming less stable, riddled with corruption and increasingly weak. National service – originally intended to build the country – could well prove one of the catalysts for the regime’s eventual collapse. Some form of demobilisation is required but cannot happen overnight, as society and the economy are incapable of immediately absorbing tens of thousand former soldiers. A holistic approach is urgently needed and requires outside help. Instead of pushing the regime into a corner, the international community should engage with Eritrea on the basis of a greater understanding about the country’s past and current grievances. This might well remove one of the regime’s key rationales and ultimately empower more reform-minded and outward-looking elements within the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) and wider society.

“It is inadequate and unhelpful simply to portray Eritrea as the regional spoiler”, says Ernst Jan Hogendoorn, Crisis Group’s acting Africa Program Director. “It is also the product of the political environment of the Horn as a whole. Ultimately, everything is interconnected, and a more comprehensive, integrated approach is needed by the international community to treat the severe problems confronting Eritrea and the region”.

Eritrea’s internal power struggle

Written by Sim Tack GeoPolitics

Monday, 26 April 2010 14:41

After trying to fight off accusations on supporting terrorist organizations in Somalia, the Eritrean government is now facing accusations over involvement in a bomb attack that took place in Ethiopia. While at first sight the bomb attack may seem like an unlikely act of Eritrea, some deeper investigation connects the bomb attack to recent military actions taken by Eritrean rebel groups against Eritrean military bases. The bombing turns out to be a potential retaliation for the attacks these rebel groups may have staged from Ethiopian territory. This news draws attention to the continuing struggle of Eritrean opposition movements to end the ruthless regime of President Isaias Afewerki and install a democratic government in the country.Summary

While Eritrean President Afewerki has been receiving German members of parliament to uphold a good image of his government in an attempt to lift sanctions imposed upon his country, the Eritrean opposition movements remain active and continuously reach closer forms of cooperation. Eritrea is known to uphold a ruthless oppressive regime that allows to political opposition and it acts upon this with kidnappings, imprisonments and torture. Last Thursday two Eritrean rebel groups launched assaults against Eritrean military intelligence bases located on an axis trailing back to the Ethiopian town of Adi Dairo, where Eritrean rebel groups are known to operate. On Saturday an explosive device exploded in a café in Adi Dairo, the bombing is likely to be the work of Eritrean intelligence agents retaliating for the rebel assaults on its military bases. While fighting opposition and sanctions the Eritrean government does find comfort in the gold rush that currently takes place in its country. This gold mining industry may deliver the resources President Afewerki requires to keep his regime in control of his country.

Two weeks ago President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea was visited by German members of parliament. He talked to them about bilateral relations between Germany and Eritrea, as well as Eritrea’s relations with different countries in the region. There is no doubt that Isaias’ goal was to convince the German members of parliament that the government of Eritrea is not supporting rebels in neighboring countries, or smuggling weapons to them for that matter. Several agreements concerning the health sector were reportedly made, but the key lesson to learn from this visit is that Eritrea is suffering from the sanctions put on it, and that its President is now forced to make diplomatic tours to raise support of Eritrea in western countries. Eritrea is trying to fight off the outside pressure on its regime, while at the same time the pressure from within keeps on building. Opposition groups and rebels continue to try and put an end to Afewerki’s rule.

In Eritrea the only political party allowed by law is the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, the party of the currently ruling President Isaias Afewerki. As no legal opposition parties are allowed the opposition movements are usually located in neighboring Ethiopia or elsewhere abroad. Most opposition groups such as the Eritrean Liberation Front, the Eritrean Democratic Party, the Eritrean National Salvation Front and the Eritrean Islamic Reform are cooperating under the EDA, the Eritrean Democratic Alliance. The group doesn’t only contain political councils aimed at creating a new democratic regime in Asmara, it also contains rebel groups such as RSADO which occasionally launch military operations against the Eritrean military. The Eritrean opposition has only been uniting since around 2004, and presents the largest opposition movement Afewerki has had to face so far. Of course these six last years are a significant share of Eritrea’s independent history that only started in 1993.

Eritrea has been oppressing these opposition movements since the beginning of the Afewerki regime. Not only are they forbidden to exist, let alone take part in elections if President Afewerki were to ever organize such elections, the Eritrean government has made a habit of using violence against any political diversity. Political leaders, even from Afewerki’s own party, that don’t align with Afewerki’s regime are kidnapped, imprisoned and at times even left to die in jail. Reports of torture and false accusations to imprison opposition members have regularly surfaced. The Eritrean government also limits any outsiders to confirm these facts by seriously limiting travel of foreign officials and even its own citizens.

On Thursday April 22nd two rebel movements; RSADO (Red Sea Affairs Democratic Organization) and the Eritrean National Salvation Front, both movements part of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance, mounted a joint assault on different military bases in southern Eritrea. The assault reportedly targeted military intelligence forces tasked with guarding the Eritrean border from Ethiopia as well as keeping tabs on these rebel forces. The rebels claim to have assaulted the bases in Adi Mesgena, Hadush Adi and Tselim Kelay during nightfall, routing the present Eritrean troops. After holding the bases to destroy and harvest equipment and intelligence located in these bases they were vacated by the Eritrean rebels. As the map shows the assaults took place in two distinct regions, raising the possibility that both pushes originated from the same point located within Ethiopia. The rebels claim to have killed between 11 to 17 members of the Eritrean military, part of the unit tasked with intelligence operations.

On Saturday April 24th news surfaced from Ethiopia that explosives had been set off at a café in Adi Dairo, a town near the Eritrean border. Ethiopia was quick to claim the activity of Eritrean intelligence agents trying to destabilize Ethiopia ahead of the elections. It is however unlikely that the bomb attack had anything to do with the upcoming elections in Ethiopia. As shown on the map the location of the bombing is situated right between Thursday’s rebel assaults on Eritrean military bases, located on the main road connecting both angles of assault. Ethiopian officials have also disclosed that the town of Adi Dairo is known to host activity of Eritrean armed rebel groups. It is very likely that the assaults on the Eritrean military bases were organized in Adi Dairo and that the bombing was a retaliation for the assaults by the Eritrean intelligence troops. While the Eritrean Democratic Alliance refuses any overt help from Ethiopia to overthrow President Afewerki, it is known that these forces are operating out of Ethiopian territory and Eritrean retaliations on Ethiopian soil could severely stress the already hostile relations between the two countries.

While President Afewerki faces opposition attempts to overthrow his regime and install a democratic rule instead and faces international sanctions against his country at the same time, there is a last glitter of hope that Afewerki’s government hopes will bring the resources needed to keep the regime in power. A very real gold rush is currently taking place in Eritrea. The so far barely tapped gold deposits in the country are being exploited by international companies. As opposed to other countries, the Eritrean government does not demand a majority stake in the mining operations, instead it reportedly demands only a ten percent share in the operations, which makes mining in Eritrea considerably more profiting to these foreign companies. Opposed to this stands of course the security risk of operating in Eritrea, not only the rebel groups and the continuous fear of a border war with Djibouti or Ethiopia present a security risk to mining companies. Also the government itself presents a security risk at times. The Eritrean government does not allow companies to do their own hiring of personnel to work in the mines, instead the government delivers workers, usually conscripts in the Eritrean military, to perform slave labor in these mines. Eritrea has been ruthless in forcing out other personnel and citizens wandering around mines, causing tensions and killings at mine operations. The income of the gold mining operations might, however, result in the necessary resources that Afewerki requires to keep his regime in control of his country.

The author of this article excuses himself for a mistake in the original version of the article. The author had wrongfuly understood that President Isaias Afewerki had visited the German members of parliament at their home in Germany, in fact the German members of parliament visited the president in Eritrea.

Ethiopia says Eritrea behind bomb blast in border town

Ethiopian officials have held the Eritrean government responsible for the attacks, which they said was aimed to disrupt country’s upcoming national elections.

The attacks in a border town of Adi-Daero occurred one day after two Eritrean rebel groups claim carrying-out a joint attack at military camps inside the red sea nation that killed at least 18 Eritrean intelligence agents.

Tigray regional president, Tsegay Berhe, told state owned news agency that the latest attacks are part of Asmara Government’s evil conspiracies aimed to disrupt country’s upcoming national election. Tsegay stressed that “such attacks by no means would disrupt the scheduled elections,” he convoyed messages of condolences.

Some 32 million Ethiopians will go to polls next month. Around 200 people died in post-election violence five years ago sparked by accusations that the ruling-EPRDF party had rigged the ballot.

Regional police investigator who is unauthorized to give statement, in a condition of anonymity confirmed Sudan tribune that arrests of some suspects being made but declined to give in numbers and also refused to comment if perpetrators were Eritrea government-hired Ethiopians or Eritrean citizens. He said investigation is well underway.

Reached by phone, a local journalist-Kidane Mariam, from the spot said that the bombs used in the attacks are unusual and very powerful.

“Such well-coordinated attack is sure an Eritrean government conspiracy,” he said echoing the official position.

Ethiopia and Eritrea remain in a no-war no-peace condition after the two neighbors in 1998-2000 went into a border war that killed an estimated 70,000 people.

Ethiopia has long hold Eritrea responsible for a number of bomb attacks in its soil, something Eritrea denies.

Yemeni ambassador calls for additional pressure on Eritrea

Monday, 29 March 2010

Dirham A. Noman

Addis Ababa, March 29 (WIC) –The newly assigned Yemeni ambassador to Ethiopia Dirham A. Noman said the international community should put additional pressure on Eritrea over its destabilizing role in the Horn of Africa.

In an exclusive interview with WIC, ambassador Noman said the recent sanctions imposed on Eritrea by the Security Council over its role in Somalia and refusal to withdraw troops from Djibouti were appropriate.

He said the international community should put effective pressure on Eritrea as it has chosen to continue with its role as a spoiler of peace in the region.

The ambassador further said Ethiopia and Yemen are working more closely with the international community to restore peace in Somalia and bring about rapid economic growth at the entire Horn of Africa.

Commending the recent peace agreement reached between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and opposition groups, ambassador Noman said Somalis themselves need to work for the success of the peace process in their country.

He further said Yemen would continue to work with Ethiopia and other peace loving countries in order to create a stable and safe Somalia as well as Horn of Africa.

The ambassador further said in addition to hosting Somali refugees, his government is training the Somali police force as well as providing financial and other support to stabilize the country.

Last Updated ( Mon

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American Chronicle | Eritrea has no links with Somalia’s Al Shabbab18 Mar 2010 … On 23 December 2009, Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, … Just because the US accuses Eritrea of supplying arms to groups in Somalia …from power by Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia’s weak transitional … making shipments difficult to track…boats often came from Yemen ´with …

Responding to questions, Meles denied the claims and said Isaias was welcome in Ethiopia.

“If the Eritrean government is eager to send any person, whether the president himself or any person, and participate in meetings they will be treated exactly like any other delegation,” Meles told reporters late on Thursday.

Meles said it was Addis Ababa’s obligation as AU headquarters.

The 1998-2000 war between two of the world’s poorest countries killed at least 70,000 people. An independent border commission in 2002 awarded the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea but Ethiopia still occupies the territory.

“I am prepared to talk to anybody on matters that help peace in the neighbourhood,” Meles said. “So as I have made it very clear on many occasions we are ready to talk to them at any level, at any time, any place.”

Meles did not say whether he was willing to discuss the border issue.

“I have no obligation to meet him at the airport,” Meles added.

In December, the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea, accusing it of backing rebel groups in Somalia, where at least 21,000 people have been killed in violence since the beginning of 2007.

The sanctions, adopted in December and backed by 13 of the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, include an arms embargo, travel restrictions and asset freezes for some of the country’s top officials.

Asmara says the Security Council is a proxy for the United States and says the multi-state body continues to ignore the fact that their territory is being occupied by Ethiopia, Washington’s strongest ally in the Horn of Africa.

“I have no obligation to meet him at the airport,” Meles added.

In December, the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea, accusing it of backing rebel groups in Somalia, where at least 21,000 people have been killed in violence since the beginning of 2007.

The sanctions, adopted in December and backed by 13 of the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, include an arms embargo, travel restrictions and asset freezes for some of the country’s top officials.

Asmara says the Security Council is a proxy for the United States and says the multi-state body continues to ignore the fact that their territory is being occupied by Ethiopia, Washington’s strongest ally in the Horn of Africa.

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Eritrean Air force unit escapes country

Sudan Tribune

Saturday 20 March 2010

March 18, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – 15 Eritrean air force members have reportedly fled Eritrea, seeking political asylum to an undisclosed government.

An exiled opposition website – assenna.com recently claimed receiving details of the Air force group including list of their names, however declined to publicize details for safety reasons.

“Although loyalty is one of the several criterions to join the Eritrean air force, many of them had already defected the PFDJ regime in a similar manner. The repeated mass defection of its skilled officers has undermined the young Eritrean Air force significantly.’’ It Said.

There is no an immediate comment from officials in Eritrea and the report can’t independently be verified at this point.

The Eritrean Air Force was established shortly after Eritrean War of Independence in 1994. The make-up of the original force was composed of aircraft that were abandoned by the then defeated armed forces of the Derg regime.

Expansion of the Eritrean Air Force (ERAF) did not occur until the Eritrean-Ethiopian War in which the two air forces fought for superiority. In a sort of arms race, Eritrea responded to Ethiopia’s purchase of Su-27s with a purchase of MiG-29s.

In 2000 the ERAF bought eight Su-25s from Georgia, and six more MiG-29’s from Moldavia. In 2003 Eritrea also acquired several Su-27s.

The Eritrean Air Force is a smaller branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces. If confirmed, the latest report would be a big blow to President Issayas Afeworki-led government who repeatedly denied the worsening fleeing away of citizens to neighboring countries.

In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, President Issayas denied any knowledge to the defection of the country’s national football team in December last year in Kenya, Instead he said it was a “fresh news” to him. However it was then confirmed by the ministry of information.

Eritrean borders are heavily patrolled by border guards and thousands of Eritreans risk their life attempting to cross to neighboring countries.

Eritrean refugees who recently made it to Ethiopia told Sudan Tribune that a shot to kill policy is intensified along the border.

Wegahta radio this week reported the killing of 12 Eritrean refugees (all from Asmara’s Mai-temenai sub-city) by border guards up on attempt to cross to Sudan.

The UNHCR recently reported from Sudan that the exodus out of Eritrea is reaching alarming stages.

In protest to country’s mandatory military service, tens of thousands of young Eritreans find eastern Sudan as their main transit to cross to Europe or Israel for better life.

In Ethiopia alone, there are nearly 50,000 Eritrean refugees in three camps, a-third of them being members of the Eritrean military.

According to Administration for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA), the current influx of Eritreans to Ethiopia stands at 1,800 a month.

-Eritrea Ruler Reports Deadly Border Clash With Ethiopia

2 January 2010

Eritrea Daily

Eritrea ruler’s propaganda website, www.shabait.com , today reported of a deadly border clash with Ethiopian troops in the early hours of the first day of the new year 2010. The incident reportedly took place in the border town of Zalambesa.

“Zalambesa, 2 January 2010: In the early morning hours of January 1st 2010, TPLF soldiers launched successive attacks in the Zalambesa front and were swiftly driven back with 10 of their soldiers killed and two captured, leaving six AK-47 automatic rifles, a machinegun and communication equipments” said the report posted on the front page of the website.

News 24.com

Eritrea claims Ethiopia attack

2010-01-03 18:10

Addis Ababa – Eritrea accused arch-foe Ethiopia on Sunday of launching attacks along their disputed border but said its troops had driven off the assault, killing 10 Ethiopian soldiers and capturing two.

The Eritrean foreign affairs ministry said soldiers from Ethiopia’s ruling Tigrai People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had attacked on Friday in the Zalambesa area. Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment.

“In the early morning hours of January 1st 2010, TPLF soldiers launched successive attacks in the Zalambesa front and were swiftly driven back,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Zalambesa lies in the centre of the contested frontier, over which neighbours fought a brutal war in the late 1990s.

80 000 die in war

“Ten of their soldiers (were) killed and two captured, leaving six AK-47 automatic rifles, a machine gun and communication equipment,” the statement said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s TPLF party is the main member of the ruling coalition and was a close ally of the Eritrean government before they fell out prior to the border war.

About 80 000 people died in the 1998-2000 border conflict, many in brutal World War I-style trench warfare.

A UN-backed boundary commission charged with demarcating the border has handed the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea but Addis Ababa has refused to recognise the ruling.

In August the Hague-based Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission ordered Asmara to pay $10m in damages sustained during the conflict, a decision Asmara has pledged to comply with.

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Eritrea opposition to fight

Addis Ababa – An Eritrean opposition group told AFP on Tuesday it was “prepared to launch attacks” on government troops after the United Nations last week imposed tough sanctions on Asmara.

“This is a good opportunity for us,” Cornelios Osman, head of the Democratic Movement for the Liberation of the Eritrean Kunama (DMLEK) said in a phone interview.

“We are preparing our military forces to launch more attacks,” he added. “We are inside Eritrea and will hit selected targets and institutions.”

The UN Security Council last week voted for an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against Eritrea, which has been accused of trying to destablise the Western-backed government in neighbouring Somalia.

Asmara condemned the decision as “a shameful day” for the United Nations.

But Cornelios said the travel ban imposed on senior officials would “further isolate the regime” and “deter it from receiving the hundreds of millions of dollars it gets” annually from the Eritrean diaspora.

DMLEK is a member of the Ethiopia based coalition Eritrean Democratic Alliance, of which two other groups have also waged a nascent armed struggle often staging hit-and-run attacks.

Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki has often dismissed his country’s foreign-based opposition as “puppets” linked with arch-foe Ethiopia, with whom Eritrea recently fought a border war.

Some 80 000 people died in a 1998-2000 border conflict between the two neighbours, many in brutal World War I style trench warfare.

A UN-backed boundary commission charged with demarcating the border handed the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea but Ethiopia has refused to implement the ruling so far.

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Thursday 31 December 2009 03:32.

Ethiopia: Eritrea to use Sudanese territories for terrorist actions

December 30, 2009 (MEKELLE, ETHIOPIA) – Ethiopia on Wednesday told Sudan that arch-foe Eritrea is being prepared to use Sudanese territories for “terrorism” missions.

Speaking at the ongoing 12th Ethio-Sudan border development commission meeting in the northern Mekelle town, director for National Security and Intelligence Service, Getachew Assefa urged the joint commission to seriously look into Eritrea’s intention.

“According to our latest intelligence sources, the Eritrean government is making all the necessary preparations to use the long Ethiopia-Sudan common border to smuggle ‘terrorists’ and anti-Ethiopian forces into to our soil” said the director, also the representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the joint commission.

“It is imperative, therefore, for the joint border commission and the respective bordering states of both countries to clearly understand the intentions of the Eritrean government.” He added.

The Ethiopian official further said that his government is closely watching into what he said was “Asmara’s systematic gamble aimed to disrupt the existing excellent ties between Ethiopia and Sudan”.

Last week, Ethiopian authorities said that they have apprehended four individuals with “Eritrean accent” who are suspected of carrying out a recent deadly grenade attack at a packed café in the restive Ogaden region where terrorist-designated Ogaden Rebels (ONLF) are active.

Sudanese presidential advisor and head of the Sudanese delegation General Salah Abdalla to his part said that securing peace and stability in either of the neighbours does mean securing peace to both countries and expressed his country’s readiness to fully cooperate with Ethiopia for regional peace and security.

“It is difficult to ensure sustainable peace and development in Sudan without securing them in Ethiopia and vice versa” The General’s Arabic translation said adding

“Sudan won’t allow any of its territories to be a save heaven for anti-Ethiopia forces considered as threats to the Ethiopian people and to country’s peace and development.”

General Salah Abdalla hailed Ethiopia’s relentless efforts to bring peace and stability in Sudan. The Ethiopia-Sudan border development commission meeting is expected to end tomorrow passing important cooperation agreements based on evaluations commission studied on past implementation performance.

The four-day joint meeting deliberates on matters of security, education, trade, health, culture, control of illegal border trade and also on ways of preventing communicable diseases among others.

The republic of Sudan has sent a 135-member Sudanese delegation including a musical team from Upper Nile, Blue Nile, Sener, and Geddarrif states.On the Ethiopian side, Tigray, Benishangul-Gumuz, Amhara and Gambella are the States representing Ethiopia.

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Afrique en ligne

Ethiopia, Sudan vow to resist Eritrean aggression in Horn of Africa

Ethiopia and Sudan will fight against Eritrea’s attempts to arm insurgents to destabilize the two East African nations heading for elections in 2010 around their common borders, a senior Ethiopian security official said on Wednesday.

Ethiopia’s top spymaster, Getachew Assefa, the Director-General of the National Intelligence and Security Services, said the border security was of utmost importance for the two countries as they prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections in 2010.

He said the elections in the two countries provided a ‘golden opportunity’ to the Eritrean government to stage attacks against Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian diplomats and security experts have been holding talks with their Sudanese counterparts in Mekelle town, some 900 kms north of capital Addis Ababa, on matters of mutual interest, covering border security and political stability.

The 12th session of the Ethiopian-Sudanese Development and Boundary Commission resolved to step up border security, warning that the next-door neighbour, Eritrea, was likely to use the border areas to cause political tensions in the two countries.

Sudan and Ethiopia, which have been holding the Joint Commission meeting in the region near Eritrea since 28 December, said the fight against terrorism would top their agenda as the two states head towards elections in 2010.

Sudan’s electoral process is underway with Presidential nominations expected to take place on 22 January, while Ethiopia’s parliamentary polls are due to be held on 23 May, 2010, in which the party with the majority seats in parliament forms the government.

Eritrea has been put under strict UN Security Council sanctions for allegedly supplying arms to insurgents battling to overthrow the western-backed Somali interim government and for its military aggression against neighbouring Djibouti.

Assefa warned that the Eritrean government was preparing to use the Sudanese territory as a base to arm insurgents and launch terrorist attacks against Eritrea, according to state media reports, which quoted the Ethiopian official, urging joint security operations.

Sudan’s Presidential Advisor General Salah Abdella said the two states were working together to scatter any terrorist attempts in the region.

Abdella said the two states would work closely in monitoring the border and fighting terrorism.

Eritrea has denied the accusations levelled against it by the Ethiopian government, saying the UN sanctions were based on falsified reports.

Addis Ababa – Pana 30/12/200

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Shabiat.com

TPLF Troops Launch An Attack In The Zalambesa Front

Saturday, 02 January 2010 05:53 |

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Zalambesa, 2 January 2010: In the early morning hours of January 1st 2010, TPLF soldiers launched successive attacks in the Zalambesa front and were swiftly driven back with 10 of their soldiers killed and two captured, leaving six AK-47 automatic rifles, a machinegun and communication equipment

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Published: January 1, 2010

————ZALAM BESA, Ethiopia (Reuters) – Two Eritrean rebel groups said on Friday they have killed 25 government soldiers and wounded at least 38 others, in ambushes on two military camps.There was no immediate comment from the Eritrean government and the report could not be independently confirmed.Rebel spokesman Yasin Mohamed said the attacks by the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation (RSADO) and the Eritrean Salvation Front (ESF) rebels were in retaliation for the repression of the Afar minority and others by the government.“The joint forces earlier today, made a surprise attack at the camp of 13 sub-division of the 2nd brigade at the vicinity of Kokobay, killed 13 and wounded 20 others,” Yasin said.He said a separate attack killed 12 members of an intelligence unit and wounded 18 others in Kermeti area. The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea last week for arming and supporting Islamist insurgents in Somalia.